2019 has seen the emergence of a new star in the film world: Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix. The film became one of the focal points of the year, sparking widespread discussion among audiences and critics. The film “Joker” brings a new analytical framework, deeply exploring the social, psychological and cultural aspects of the problem.
Social pathology and the birth of clowns:
The movie “Joker” reveals the reflection of social problems in individual psychology. The protagonist, Arthur Fleck, who experiences social problems such as poverty, crime and mental illness, eventually becomes a clown. This change highlights the impact of social injustice and indifference on individual psychology, providing the audience with a profound reflection on social pathological phenomena.
The film’s protagonist, Arthur Flack, is a dispatcher living in the high poverty and decay of Gotham City. He lived in squalid apartments and suffered from social injustice and economic hardship.
This plight at the bottom of society foreshadows his mental health problems, but also allows the audience to intuitively feel the pathologies of society. Arthur suffered from severe mental illness, characterized by emotional confusion and hallucinations.
However, Gotham’s public health care system was unable to provide adequate support and treatment, leaving him in a state of loneliness and despair. The audience witnesses Arthur’s psychological breakdown in the film, which reflects society’s neglect of mental health issues.
In the film, the people of Gotham City show indifference and disdain for Arthur and other underclass people. They are often ignored and ridiculed, and this social indifference makes them feel excluded and isolated.
This indifference is also reflected in Arthur’s mother, employers, and colleagues, further contributing to the worsening of his mental illness. Arthur is not originally an evil character, but after a series of unfair and painful experiences, he gradually follows the path of becoming a clown.
The character of the clown became an outlet for his inner anger and desire for revenge, as well as a symbol of social injustice. His avatar, the Joker, represents the anger and resistance of those at the bottom of society, especially in the climax of the film, when the Joker’s actions trigger a social unrest.
The film succeeded in connecting the audience with the Joker. Although Arthur’s behavior becomes extreme and violent, the audience is still able to understand his pain and anger because the film presents the audience with a socially sick environment that fosters the Joker’s birth.
Mental Health and Violence:
Arthur suffered from severe mental illness, characterized by emotional confusion and hallucinations. However, Gotham’s public health care system was unable to provide adequate support and treatment, leaving him in a state of loneliness and despair. The audience witnesses Arthur’s psychological breakdown in the film, which reflects society’s neglect of mental health issues.
The film’s protagonist, Arthur Flack, suffers from a rare disease that causes him to be emotionally and emotionally vulnerable. He had experienced a series of setbacks and abuse in his life, which caused his mental state to deteriorate dramatically.
Arthur’s mental health issues were not properly treated and paid attention to, but instead ignored, which became an important driving factor in the film. The film shows the failure of Gotham City’s social support system.
Arthur tried to get therapy, but the therapist was indifferent to his problems and the medical system was indifferent to his needs. This lack of social support caused Arthur’s condition to worsen, eventually pushing it to extremes.
The film shows Arthur’s gradual descent into crime and social violence. Arthur feels marginalized and excluded due to society’s ruthlessness and indifference towards him, which fuels his anger and discontent.
He eventually channeled these feelings into acts of violence and became the clown. This echoes the reality that mental health problems, when not properly treated and attended to, can lead to crime and social violence.
And by showing Arthur’s complexity, it provokes the audience to think deeply. The audience can both understand Arthur’s pain and loneliness and be shocked and worried by his violent acts. This emotional conflict reflects the complexity between mental health issues and violence, as well as the inadequacy of how society deals with these issues.
The movie “Joker” inspires viewers to reflect on society’s attitude toward mental health issues. It is a reminder that society needs to better pay attention to and support individuals suffering from mental health issues to prevent them from going down the path of extreme violence. At the same time, the film also shows the complex interaction between social injustice and mental health issues, which requires comprehensive solutions.
Lost individuals and identities:
The film presents a lost individual as Arthur searches for his own identity throughout the story. He was repeatedly rejected and marginalized, and eventually chose to become a clown. This raises deep questions about identity and self-worth.
Arthur lives in the bottom of the society in Gotham City, and he feels the marginalization and indifference from the society. He is a lonely, unemployed clown performer who, due to social injustice and economic hardship, is not only materially poor, but also spiritually isolated and lost.
This marginalization profoundly affected his sense of self. He lives in the bottom of the society in Gotham City, and he feels the marginalization and indifference from the society. He is a lonely, unemployed clown performer who, due to social injustice and economic hardship, is not only materially poor, but also spiritually isolated and lost. This marginalization profoundly affected his sense of self.
Arthur lives in the bottom of the society in Gotham City, and he feels the marginalization and indifference from the society. He is a lonely, unemployed clown performer who, due to social injustice and economic hardship, is not only materially poor, but also spiritually isolated and lost.
This marginalization profoundly affected his sense of self. Over time, Arthur began to establish himself as an antihero, the Joker. Clowns became a medium for him to express himself and a way for him to find his identity. In part, the Joker’s rise represents Arthur’s response to being marginalized by society and an identity he has found in the chaos.
Through Arthur’s complexity, the film evokes the audience’s deep sympathy for him. The audience can relate to his struggle and sense of loss, and this emotional connection makes the lost individual and the theme of identity more resonant.
Artistic Expression and Social Criticism:
Film, with its profound artistic expression, has aroused criticism of social injustice. Director Todd Phillips uses a bold approach and musical choices that take the audience inside the Joker’s mind and emphasize the urgency of social issues.
1. Presentation of Gotham City: The portrayal of Gotham City in the film is no longer humorous and exaggerated as in previous comics, but presents a decaying and dirty city. This visual presentation highlights the pathology and corruption of society and paves the way for subsequent discussion of social issues.
2. Arthur’s makeup process: The film conveys emotional and psychological changes to the audience by carefully depicting the process of Arthur’s makeup every time, as well as his smile and eyes. This visual subtlety helps the audience better understand the inner world of the protagonist.
3. Use of music: Use of classics such as “Send in the Clowns” and “Rock and Roll Part 2” : The film’s clever use of music reinforces the expression of emotion. Classical music as the background music, not only create a dramatic atmosphere, but also make the audience have a deeper resonance for the plot and characters in the film.
4. Shooting technique and choice of director: close-range shooting and Arthur’s loneliness: Through close-range shooting, the film places the audience directly in Arthur’s world, emphasizing his loneliness and inner contradiction. This choice of director enhances the audience’s resonance with the protagonist and makes social issues more touching.
5. Re-shaping the image of the Joker: The film rebuilds the classic villain image of the Joker into a character with more depth and authenticity. This reinvention not only provided space for artistic expression, but also made the clown a symbol of social problems.
6. Implication and challenge of social problems: The film reveals the gap between the rich and the poor and social injustice, and reveals the grim reality of the gap between the rich and the poor and social injustice to the audience by presenting the bottom society where Arthur lives. This is not only an expose of social problems, but also a profound critique of contemporary society.
7. Satire of media and celebrity culture: The film satirizes these phenomena by depicting the hypocrisy and bias of media and celebrity culture. This provides viewers with a deep reflection on the media’s distortion of reality, further highlighting the pathologies of society.
Cultural symbols and antiheroes:
The movie “Joker” redefines the cultural icon of the clown as the antihero. The audience’s sympathy and empathy for the Joker made the character more complex and multi-dimensional, challenging the traditional division between hero and villain.
The Joker has long been a traditional villain in comics and movies, but the movie “Joker” reinterprets the image. The film shows the origin story of the Joker (Arthur), transforming him from an ordinary man into the infamous character. This reinterpretation makes the Joker a more complex and human character.
The Joker in the film is not only a villain, but also a symbol of social problems. He represents the anger and resistance of those at the bottom of society, the product of social injustice and corruption. The clown image in the film has become a tool to examine society.
By showing the inner world of Arthur Fleck, the film makes the audience resonate with him. Although Arthur eventually turns into the Joker and takes extreme actions, the audience is still able to understand his pain and anger as the film reveals society’s callousness and indifference toward him. This emotional resonance makes the Joker an anti-hero, not just a villain.
The film deeply explores social issues such as the wealth gap, social injustice, and mental health issues through the behavior of clowns. The clown’s behavior is seen as a response to these issues, and he becomes a symbolic resistance to social problems. And it challenges the traditional clear line between hero and villain.
The audience is forced to reconsider what is a hero, what is a villain, and how society has influenced the portrayal of these characters. This challenge to traditional heroism prompts the audience to think about moral and ethical issues.
In general, Joker explores social issues, mental health, individual identity, artistic expression and cultural symbols through a multidimensional analytical framework.
The film not only elicits emotional resonance from the audience, but also inspires profound thinking about contemporary social issues. Its appearance marks an important breakthrough in film art, which deserves long-term study and discussion.
